By Allen Dinkel
Each week, a report is written by City staff that is to provide information on the activity of the City staff during the past week or to provide information relating to the City. This report is known as the 5/15, however I have heard it called the 5-1-5. So where did the name come from? Actually, a previous manager started this report and 5/15 was the name that was given to it. I once thought it was called that because it is sent at the end of the week, but others say it was called that because it was supposed to take 5 minutes to read and 15 minutes to write each section. Whatever the reason for the name, the report was meant to provide information and it still does that. When I first came here the report was only sent to members of the Governing Body and to the Department Heads. However, over the years the report is now sent to many people. Of course, one thing that has not changed is the name. I like the ring of 5/15 and the name has been embraced by the staff.
Over the past couple of years, the local news media has printed my portion of the report to share with the public. However, the complete report contains information from the City Department Heads. If you want to be added to the list to receive the entire report just drop an e-mail to me at [email protected]
One topic that I have heard some talking about this week is the Animal Shelter. As most know, the shelter is located on North Jackson Street adjacent to the Public Works Department. When I first came to Junction City, the Shelter was operated by Geary County and the City owned the structure and shared in the costs of running the shelter. All staff members were County employees.
In 2020 the County Commission decided to no longer be a part of the Shelter and the operation turned back to the City. Of course, the City had ran the shelter at one time before the County was involved. The employees then became “City” employees, and the Shelter was made part of the Police Department. This of course ties together with the Animal Control staff. Agreements were made with the County Sherriff Office, and the cities of Grandview Plaza and Milford to take animals from those jurisdictions at the Shelter.
Recently, there has been an uptick in the number of animals received. In the month of February, the Shelter received 96 animals. 60 of these were canines, 35 felines and 1 other. 48 of the animals were brought in by the Animal Control Officer (ACO) and the Police Department and 33 were delivered by civilians. There were also Civilian surrenders of their animals. One issue that the shelter has is animals that are dumped at the shelter or just turned loose into the community and then captured by the ACO. Unfortunately, the number of animals increases with deployments of soldiers.
With this number of animals, the shelter is normally more than just full. The shelter also needs to be addressed so that humane treatment can be given to the animals. At the next City Commission, Animal Shelter Director Vanessa Gray will make a presentation about the shelter. One option is a new shelter, but that does come with a price tag. Some of mentioned that a building could be purchased and refurbished. Though that may be an option, issues such as drainage and ventilation have to be considered and spaces for isolating infected or diseased animals are needed. Of course, exercise areas are another consideration. Again, remodeling will have a cost and we will need to weigh what options are the best. Remodeling the present facility may be an option as well, but the goal has to be, to have a shelter that fits the needs of the community along with the treatment of the animals.
Over the past few years, the shelter has moved to a near “No Kill” facility and efforts are made to adopt all animals. This becomes a controversial subject as others feel that animals should be euthanized if they are at the shelter for an extended period of time. Likewise, the Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs for felines has it “likers and haters”, but this program is used by many cities to control cat populations.
As with many City decisions there are many options and opinions. At the end of the day, the goal is to find what is best for Junction City.